I thought preparing for a baby would mostly feel exciting.
Picking names. Tiny clothes. Dreaming about what the nursery would look like.
And some of it did feel that way.
But somewhere in the middle of pregnancy, things quietly shifted from:
“This is exciting…”
to:
“Wait… am I supposed to know how all of this works already?”
Because all of a sudden it felt like my brain had 47 tabs open at the same time.
I was trying to remember things from doctor appointments, save random TikToks about labor signs, figure out what I actually needed for the hospital, and somehow mentally prepare for childbirth while still doing normal everyday life.
And honestly? The closer I got to my due date, the more I felt this weird pressure to become an expert overnight.
Like I was suddenly supposed to know when contractions were actually “real,” what postpartum recovery really felt like, what counted as normal, what counted as an emergency, and somehow remember everything I was supposed to pack for the hospital too.
Meanwhile, my husband would ask completely reasonable questions like:
“So… what happens when labor starts?”
And I remember thinking:
I honestly don’t even know how to answer that.
Not because he didn’t care.
He did.
But without even realizing it, I had quietly become the default “research person” for the pregnancy.
I was the one Googling everything. Remembering everything. Trying to stay three steps ahead of everything.
And at some point, I completely snapped over the hospital bag.
Not even because of the bag itself.
I just remember sitting on the floor trying to pack it, realizing I still needed nursing bras, toiletries, phone chargers, snacks, baby clothes, and a hundred other random things… and suddenly bursting into tears because it felt like proof that I was not ready for any of this.
That was also the moment I realized I didn’t actually need MORE pregnancy information.
I needed simpler information.
And honestly? I needed my husband hearing the same information too so I could stop feeling like the project manager of the entire pregnancy.
At one point, I finally realized we needed something that would walk BOTH of us through what to expect in a way that didn’t feel overwhelming or scary or like sitting through a medical lecture.
That’s when we found the Nurse Hilary Erickson’s Online Prenatal Class for Couples.
And what I immediately liked about it was how normal it felt.
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Not dramatic.
Not intimidating.
Not overly clinical.
Just clear, practical information that actually made both of us feel calmer instead of more overwhelmed afterward.
One of the biggest things it helped with was understanding what early labor can actually look like and when it’s really time to go to the hospital — which, honestly, was one of the things giving me the most anxiety toward the end of pregnancy.
But weirdly, the biggest shift wasn’t even the information itself.
It was the feeling of finally not carrying all of this alone anymore.
After we started going through it together, my husband started asking completely different kinds of questions.
Not:
“Wait, what even happens during labor?”
But things like:
“Okay, so what should I be watching for?”
“What would help you most at the hospital?”
“What do we do if contractions start at night?”
And for the first time in weeks, I felt like we were actually preparing together instead of me silently trying to hold everything in my head by myself.
That feeling changed everything.
Because once BOTH people understand what’s happening, pregnancy starts to feel a little less scary.
You stop feeling like you have to memorize the entire internet before giving birth.
You stop spiraling every time you hear a scary birth story online.
You stop feeling so behind.
And I honestly think that’s what most pregnant moms are really looking for.
Not perfection.
Not the perfect birth plan.
Not the perfect hospital bag.
Just reassurance.
Just support.
Just something that makes this whole season feel a little more manageable.
Because pregnancy can already feel emotionally heavy enough without also feeling like you’re responsible for becoming a labor and delivery expert overnight.
Sometimes the thing that helps most isn’t becoming an expert — it’s finally feeling like you’re not carrying everything alone anymore.
And if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed too, having something that walks both of you through what to expect — in a way that feels simple instead of stressful — can make a huge difference.
Nurse Hilary’s Online Prenatal Class for Couples honestly helped pregnancy feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more like we were in it together.